Effect of ball-milling time on the structural characteristics of biomedical porous Ti–Sn–Nb alloy

The structural characteristics of biomedical porous materials are crucial for bone tissue to grow into a porous structure and can also influence the fixation and remodeling between the implant and the human tissues. The current study has been investigating the effect of the ball-milling variable of time on the structural characteristics and pore morphology of a biomedical porous Ti–16Sn–4Nb (wt.%) alloy. The alloy was synthesized using high-energy ball milling for different periods of time, and the porous Ti–16Sn–4Nb alloy was fabricated by using a space holder sintering process. The resultant powder particles, bulk, and porous samples were characterized using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), laser particle-size analyzer, chemical analysis, X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), and the Vickers hardness test. The results indicated that the inner pore surface, pore wall architecture, degree of porosity, pore size and the inter-pore connectivity of the sintered porous alloy are all considerably affected by ball-milling time.